Plural Happiness

Bi and Poly Triangulations in Balasko's French Twist

Bibliographic Data

ID12759268
AuthorsSerena Anderlini-D’onofrio (0000-0002-2557-4970, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume9
Issue3-4
Pages343-361
Publication date2009-11-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Bisexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1529-9716 • E-ISSN: 1529-9724
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15299710903316620
OpenAlexW2072527139
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited10

This article proposes bi and poly reading of the film French Twist (1995) based on salient points of queer theory, including mimetic desire, homosexual panic, the apparitional lesbian, the triangularity of desire and the figure of two-in-one. These theories are adapted and expanded to explain the bisexual and polyamorous practices of love observed in the film, including compersion or the ability to love those who love our lovers. The three main characters, a butch lesbian from Paris, a bisexual woman from Spain and her philandering husband from Provence, intertwine their lives as they learn to be in touch with themselves, fair to each other and inclusive. The article explains how these practices are conducive of the “plural happiness” observed at the film's concluson, where the three protagonists form a bi and poly triad with the bi woman in the middle and an expanded family that includes three parents and their three children. The author argues that the bi and poly practices of love observed in the film are good for the planet because they are conducive of ecological and emotional sustainability

Aesthetics · Art · Contradiction · Epistemology · Happiness · Lesbian · Linguistics · Plural · Psychoanalysis · Queer · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Cinema and Media Studies · Gender Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub